More Than Big Numbers: How The US Can Learn From Europe's Pamdemic Cycling Investment

Over the past several months, the boom in cycling and cycling investment has been one of the very few positives to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, there are signs that the millions spend on new bike paths and other infrastructure in Europe may not have done enough to improve safety. 

Since March and April, countries around the globe have scrambled - and spent - to support the influx of cyclists that have been the result of the pandemic. Much of the United States and Europe have seen marked increases in cycling activity for recreation, but also for critical transportation. With mass transit’s close quarters, many have turned to two-wheels to run errands, get to work, and move around. That spurred on a massive investment in car-free zones, bike paths, new traffic patterns, and signals, plus other ways of supporting pedal traffic. 

In Europe, they’ve spent a billion Euros across the Continent support cycling, while the United Kingdom alone invested $326 million in just eight months. Unfortunately for the UK, there’s evidence that their spending hasn’t been equally distributed, nor has it improved cycling safety. 

According to one study, the EU has succeeded in delivering on its promise of making cycling safer for commuters in the areas that have seen investment. So far, it has seen traffic incidents fall in the areas that have seen improved infrastructure, even with the marked rise in foot and cycling traffic. The study also shows that nations that have historically struggled to protect cyclists fared the worst in improving safety, including Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. These nations have outspent other nations, but the money has done little to improve safety. 

Experts believe that because more established cycling nations didn’t need to spend or change much, they already had the smart and well-researched information needed to adapt to the increase in bike path and bike lane usage. Spend doesn’t always mean safety; Finland saw the highest cycling fatality rate in the EU at 29%, more than twice the organization’s average, in spite of spending the most per capita. 

All spending is not equal, either. Experts have divided the recent cycling investment into a few categories and attempted to measure where certain cities have focused their efforts. For example, Turin has invested heavily in traffic calming infrastructure, while Rome spent on increasing the kilometers of cycle path and cycle lanes, to the tune of roughly 150 kilometers. 

Maybe the biggest shortfall in Europe’s efforts during the pandemic is their shortsightedness. 41% of the monetary investment is dedicated to temporary efforts instead of long-term fixes to improve safety. Only 31% of these new budget allocations are permanent, which means many cities aren’t doing enough to support cycling in the long-term. 

It’s a lesson the United States can certainly learn from. There are already many advocates pointing to the opportunity to include cycling infrastructure in any future stimulus plans from the Biden administration, not to mention any number of individual state budgets. 

In any case, we’ve already learned that there is much more to improving cycling safety than a high dollar amount. Instead, countries looking to turn the current cycling boom into a long-term environmental, health, and transportation solution need to make these investments permanent, not to mention follow real data and on-going studies.